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Africa
Introduction
Africa is a continent that, with about 30,370,000 km2 (11,730,000 square miles) including adjacent islands, covers 6% of the Earth’s surface and 20% of the land surface. So is Africa the world’s second-largest continent (if we divide America in two continents).
With more than 1.3 billion inhabitants, Africa is the second most populous continent after Asia and, in other words, it represents 17.2% of the planet’s population in 2020. Most importantly, the African countries have the highest population growth on the planet
By 1914, with the rise of colonial empires, Africa had only two sovereign states, Abyssinia (or Ethiopia) and Liberia. Since World War II, the number of independent African states has grown steadily, from 4 in 1945 to 27 in 1960, reaching 53 in 1993 and finally 54 countries in 2011.
Geography
Physical map of Africa
Land cover map of Africa
Borders
Africa is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. In addition, Africa includes also Madagascar ant the following archipelagos: Comoros, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde and the Seychelles.
Area
30 370 000 km2 (11 730 000 sq mi)
Rivers in Africa
List of the major rivers of Africa with their length:
Population and settlement
Population from 1950 to 2020
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019, Online Edition. Rev. 1.
Economy
GDP (PPP) (estimate 2019)
Total: $2.45 trillion
Per capita: $1 930
Natural Resources
| Material | Percent of world production | Countries |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | 5% | South Africa (99%) |
| Uranium | 16% | Namibia (46%) Niger (44%) South Africa (< 10%) |
| Diamonds | 73% | Botswana (35%) Democratic Republic of the Congo (34%) South Africa (17%) Angola (8%) |
| Gold | 89% | South Africa (56%) Ghana (13%) Tanzania (10%) Mali (8%) |
| Copper | 5% | Zambia (65%) South Africa (15%) Democratic Republic of the Congo (13%) |
| Bauxite | 9% | Guinea (95%) Ghana (5%) |
Africa contain some of the world’s most substantial reserves of precious stones and metals. Therefore Africa has the largest mineral industries in the world. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita. The table below represent the percent of the world production of Africa for various minerals.
African countries and capitals
Political map of Africa
List of countries
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Capital: Kinshasa
Population: 101 780 263 (2020)
Area: 2 344 858 km2
Legislative and royal capital: Lobamba
Executive capital: Mbabane
Population: 1 136 281 (2018)
Area: 17 364 km2
Legislative capital: Yamoussoukro
Administrative capital: Abidjan
Population: 26 378 274 (2020)
Area: 322 463 km2
Executive capital: Pretoria
Legislative capital: Cape Town
Judicial capital: Bloemfontein
Population: 58 775 022 (2019)
Area: 1 219 090 km2
